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Barca edge Real Madrid in extra-time to win wild Copa del Rey final
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'Legendary' Eubank Jr beats Benn in grudge bout
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Thunder sweep past Grizzlies into NBA playoffs 2nd round, Cavs on brink
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South Korea's Ryu and Japan's Saigo share LPGA Chevron lead
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Canada leaders make closing pitches in campaign upended by Trump
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De Bruyne's Man City exit 'so difficult' for Guardiola
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'No regrets' for Amorim over Man Utd move
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Lyon and Strasbourg win to close in on Europe, Montpellier relegated from Ligue 1
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Toulouse thrash Castres as Top 14 pursuers stumble
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Djokovic crashes to nervous Arnaldi in Madrid opener, Swiatek advances
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Olympic champs Russell, Davis-Woodhall win at Drake Relays
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Browns end Sanders long draft slide
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Cavs crush Heat, on brink of NBA playoff sweep
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Fire rages after major blast at Iran port kills 8, injures hundreds
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Kiwi Beamish wins Penn Relays 1,500m crown with late kick
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Mbappe on Real Madrid bench for Clasico Copa del Rey final
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England survive France fightback to seal Women's 6 Nations slam
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Palace sweep past Villa to reach FA Cup final
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CAF appoint Moroccan Lekjaa first vice-president
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Major blast at Iran port kills 5, injures hundreds
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Rodgers vows to stay with Celtic after fourth successive Scottish title
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Ipswich relegated as Newcastle, Chelsea boost top five bids
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Canada leaders make final pitches in campaign upended by Trump
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Mullins -- Ireland's national training treasure
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US, Iran say progress in 'positive' nuclear talks
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Mullins emulates O'Brien with second successive trainer's title
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Ipswich relegated after one season in Premier League
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Just Stop Oil activist group holds final march
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Djokovic crashes to nervous Arnaldi in Madrid opener
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Syria's Kurds demand 'democratic decentralised' Syria
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Leverkusen win to delay Bayern and Kane's title party
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Buenos Aires farewells native pontiff with tears and calls to action
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Turkey's opposition says Erdogan's canal plan behind latest arrests
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Maresca hails 'nasty' Chelsea as top five bid stays alive
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Trump raises Putin doubts after Zelensky talks at pope's funeral
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Major blast at Iran port kills 4, injures hundreds
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Napoleon's sword to be sold at auction in Paris
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Iran, US discuss nuclear deal in third round of talks
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Buenos Aires farewells native pontiff with call to action
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Warholm sets hurdles world record at Diamond League, Holloway shocked
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US students 'race' sperm in reproductive health stunt
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Wikileaks founder Assange joins crowds for pope funeral
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Leader Marc Marquez claims Spanish MotoGP sprint victory
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Celtic win fourth successive Scottish Premiership title
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Jackson ends drought as Chelsea boost top five push
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Warholm sets 300m hurdles world record in Diamond League opener
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Major blast at south Iran port kills 4, injures hundreds
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Russia says retook Kursk from Ukraine with North Korean help
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Francis laid to rest as 400,000 mourn pope 'with an open heart'
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Trump, Zelensky meet on sidelines of pope's funeral

US announces tough tap water standards for 'forever chemicals'
US President Joe Biden's administration on Wednesday announced the first nationwide tap water standards to protect the public from toxic "forever chemicals" linked to serious health harms ranging from cancers to developmental damage in children.
Invisible and present in the water, soil, air and food supply, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) accumulate inside our bodies and never break down in the environment.
A new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule would reduce PFAS exposure in the water supply of some 100 million people, preventing thousands of deaths and tens of thousands of serious illnesses, the agency said.
"This is a huge win for public health in the United States," Melanie Benesh, who works on policy issues for the nonprofit Environmental Working Group, told AFP.
"Getting these chemicals out of drinking water will reduce exposure, will reduce the disease burden, and ultimately will save lives."
The rule sets drinking water limits for five individual PFAS.
This includes two of the most commonly found PFAS: a contaminant known as PFOA previously used in nonstick Teflon pans, and PFOS, a compound once used in coatings to protect clothes and carpets in 3M's Scotchgard and in firefighting foams.
Specifically, it sets maximum levels for these two at 4 parts per trillion or ppt -- far lower than, for example Canada, where the limits are 200 ppt for PFOA and 600 ppt for PFOS.
"I am not aware of a lower or more health protective drinking water standard for PFAS globally," said David Andrews, a senior scientist with EWG.
Eleven US states already had their own PFAS water regulations, but the rest did not.
The administration also announced it was releasing $1 billion in additional funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help jurisdictions fund detection and treatment systems for the new standards.
- Home filters -
"I'm extremely proud that this rule is a result of a collective bipartisan effort, with all sides united finding a solution to a challenge that transcends political and geographical boundaries," EPA chief Michael Regan told reporters on a call.
PFAS contamination of water supplies has devastated communities like Oakdale, Minnesota, where PFAS waste dumped by a chemical plant drove a rise in cancers among children.
These included youth environmental activist Amara Strande, who was diagnosed with an extremely rare form of liver cancer and died last year, two days before what would have been her 21st birthday.
Andrews said: "There's an incredible body of scientific evidence linking PFAS not just to cancer but to other health harms, impacts on development, effectiveness of vaccines."
It's thought 20 percent of people's PFAS exposure comes through drinking water, with the remainder coming from other sources including food, food packaging, consumer products and household dust, he added.
In all, there are nearly 15,000 types of PFAS, according to a chemicals database maintained by the EPA, but more research is needed to fully understand all their impacts.
Biden, who vowed to tackle the PFAS scourge as a campaign pledge, has previously passed actions phasing out the chemicals in food packaging, stopping the purchase of PFAS-containing chemicals in federal contracts, and more.
Given that water systems have up to five years to implement filtration techniques to reduce PFAS, Andrews said people could still buy devices for their homes, including carbon filters and reverse osmosis systems, to protect themselves and their families.
P.Mathewson--AMWN